Electronic component mounting apparatuses for mounting electronic components on a substrate, generally use an image recognition method to correct deviations in alignment of the electronic component in relation to its mounting position, in order to improve the accuracy of the electronic component mounting. In this method, a mounting head picks up an electronic component from a component feeder. A camera captures an image of the electronic component while it is being held by the mounting head. The captured image is visually processed to detect deviations in alignment of the electronic component in relation to the correct mounting position. When mounting the electronic component on a substrate, misalignment is corrected, and the position of the electronic component is determined correctly and accurately before the electronic component is mounted.
As a lighting method for the image recognition device which recognizes the electronic component by capturing an image, the following method is generally used. Conventionally, light is projected to a light diffuser panel employed behind an electronic component. A camera captures the light irregularly reflected from the light diffuser panel. In this method, the electronic component is located by a transmission recognition whereby the electronic component is recognized as a dark image.
The above-mentioned conventional lightening method, however, has had the following problems. Firstly, the amount of light radiated from behind the electronic component to the camera is small due to the incidence direction of the light from the light source and the nature of the light diffuser panel. Secondly, the light is not radiated evenly. This lack of light quantity and uneven radiation results in reduced accuracy in recognizing the electronic component.
The present invention aims at providing an electronic component mounting apparatus, an electronic component recognition device and an electronic component recognition method for an accurate recognition to correct misalignment in positioning of the electronic component.